Judy Nimtz, "Levitas", 2018, oil on panel, 40" x 19"

Judy Nimtz, "Passage", 2017, oil on panel, 33.5" x 12”

Prographica/Koplin Del Rio is pleased to announce joint solo exhibitions: A Stop on the Road by Kimberly Clark and Littoral by Judy Nimtz. This marks the second solo exhibition for Kimberly Clark with Prographica. The installation of new paintings by Judy Nimtz will mark the artist’s debut exhibition in Seattle and her fourth solo exhibition with Koplin Del Rio.

Kimberly Clark (b. 1977)

The show’s title, A Stop on the Road, is a reference to the search the artist embarks on to find inspiration for her work. Clark's paintings are a documentation of her travels across the country and the long rides on her bike exploring the countryside. Clark relocated to South Carolina from Seattle in 2014. She begins the day on her bike, exploring the environs in and around her home, stopping when the light passing through the trees or the lines formed by the branches in the canopies above, catches her eye. The journey is as important as the process of constructing the paintings.

Painting the landscape is, for me, meditation of a kind; time begins to slow, and as it does, life becomes less complex. Looking into and through the trees is where I see harmony.

My work, then, is an attempt to articulate and share my experiences in the landscape. As the world becomes more enamored with technology and social media, I hope, with my painting, to remind the viewer to slow down and take the time to look and see the natural world in all its fleeting beauty.

- Kimberly Clark

The canopy is of less interest than the volume of space it encloses. Clark makes “looking up” tangible and invites the viewer to appreciate the space and breathe the air.

Bio

Kimberly Clark was born in New Jersey and lived in Philadelphia for many years. She studied at the University of Washington (MFA, 2011), Brandeis University (Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Painting, 2009), and Moore College of Art and Design (BFA, 2001). Clark trained as a muralist with Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program where she worked as a muralist, restorer and educator from 1999 – 2008. Clark’s work has been exhibited nationally and Prographica has represented her work since 2010. Kimberly Clark currently lives and works in South Carolina.

Judy Nimtz (b. 1973)

Judy Nimtz is known stylistically for paintings of solitary, contemplative figures often set in outdoor environs. Aiming to achieve a “quiet, introspective” mood, Nimtz thoughtfully stages her models in bright sunlight on lava rocks under the ultra blue sky of her native Hawaii. With their cool, marble-like flesh and graceful poses, Nimtz’s figures reference the genre of 19th century society portraiture and the Pre-Raphaelites. Each piece focuses on the strength of its subject – a figure commanding rather than isolated by the surrounding space. During an undergraduate study abroad in Italy, Nimtz spent time in Venice, Florence, and Rome and was fascinated with the presentation of solitary saints and patrons in 13th century altarpieces. She would later echo those spatial constructs in her own work, controlling the space by containing her figures in extreme vertical or horizontal formats portrayed in oil glazed panels.

My art is a culmination of the experiences I’ve gathered from life and literature, places visited, dreamt of and imagined. I have always cherished the qualities of literature and the arts that allow me to explore beyond myself and beyond what I know. I strive to imbue my own work with similar traits. In each piece my challenge is to create a narrative whether out in nature, in an interior setting, or depicting a figure. My paintings are about possibilities. – Judy Nimtz

The title of the exhibition, “Littoral” is Latin for: existing or taking place on or near the shore. Nimtz is inspired by the research and discovery of alternate origins of words, using Latin and Greek dictionaries, and multiple thesauri, which further enhance the action of the painting or the inner thoughts of the figure in her descriptive titles.

Bio

Judy Nimtz was born in Taiwan and raised on the island of O’ahu in Hawai’i. After completion of her MFA in 2008 from Laguna College of Art and Design, Judy made Southern California her home. Nimtz has exhibited her work in several solo and group exhibitions in the Los Angeles area including a joint survey exhibition with Kenny Harris at The Santa Monica College Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (2012) and multiple Artist-In-Residencies in Siena and Tuscany, Italy (2011-2015). She has been exhibiting with KDR since 2010.